Hospitals have started buying fans and using them to try to keep staff and patients cool as buildings overheat.

Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) has bought a consignment of fans as part of its response to the heatwave. It is also giving patients extra drinks and – importantly for people who spend a lot of time on their feet – staff extra breaks, to help them cope.

At the John Radcliffe Infirmary (JRI) in Oxford particularly vulnerable patients – those with chronic or severe illnesses or who are confined to their beds – are being moved to “naturally cooler rooms”, a spokesman explained.

Staff are also “providing [patients with] water-rich foods such as fruits, yoghurt and salads; providing regular wet towels/wipes and foot baths; [and] weighing patients regularly [as] weight loss can be due to dehydration”, he added.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), which runs the JRI as well as three other smaller hospitals in the area, is also trying to keep temperatures down by turning off any lights and electrical equipment that are not needed.

The heat has led to a spike in the number of patients needing care at both the BRI and JRI. “Attendance to our emergency department (A&E) has increased. We are seeing 400 plus patients most days – an increase of between 30 to 50 people per day.

These are particularly older people with heat-related conditions, including breathing difficulties, and injuries”, a BRI spokeswoman said.

Extreme weather: post your questions

Is the extreme weather – from heatwaves to thunderstorms – a direct effect of climate change? Can we expect more summers like this in the UK and across the globe? And what can be done about it?

Our reporter Adam Vaughan will be live on this blog between 2pm and 3pm today to answer any questions you have. You can post them below the line now, tweet Adam @adamvaughan_uk and join us here from 2pm for his replies.

Heatwave 'made more than twice as likely by climate change'

The heatwave searing northern Europe was made more than twice as likely by climate change, according to a rapid assessment by scientists.

The Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, reports here on new work by researchers who analysed records of the hottest three-day period at seven weather stations in northern Europe, from Ireland to the Netherlands to Scandinavia, where data was easily accessible.

The result is preliminary but they say the signal of climate change is “unambiguous”. Scientists have long predicted that global warming is ramping up the number and intensity of heatwaves, with events even worse than current one set to strike every other year by the 2040s.

“The logic that climate change will do this is inescapable – the world is becoming warmer, and so heatwaves like this are becoming more common,” said Friederike Otto, at the University of Oxford and part of the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium that did the work.

“What was once regarded as unusually warm weather will become commonplace, and in some cases, it already has,” she said. “So this is something that society can and should prepare for. But equally there is no doubt that we can and should constrain the increasing likelihood of all kinds of extreme weather events by restricting greenhouse gas emissions as sharply as possible.”

So why can’t rails be designed to withstand the heat? A potted explanation, courtesy of Network Rail, is that the rails are very long pieces of steel, which can expand or contract significantly in the heat – liable to push the track out of shape either way.

In the last few months, Britain has seen temperatures from -15C in February to 34C now – and sun shining directly on rails actually heats them to up to 50C.

So Britain’s compromise is to design rails to have a stress-free temperature of 27C – the most suitable for our climate and cost-efficient.

Other countries, with greater extremes of temperature, have to either use expensive concrete slabs rather than sleepers and ballasts to contain the forces of expansion and contraction, or even adjust their rails according to the season. Stretched rails can buckle, and can also cause points and signalling failures, while heat can also stretch and sag overhead wires, with a risk that trains can pull them down. Slower trains reduce that risk, and also reduce forces on the already stressed track – hence speed restrictions.

Britain could, theoretically, adjust its rails for the season but the cost and disruption of the work would outweigh any benefits for passengers, Network Rail says.

A spokesperson said: “On very sunny days, rails in direct sunshine can be as much as 20 degrees centigrade above air temperature causing the steel to expand markedly and could, if not carefully monitored and action taken, buckle causing travel disruption.

“Our engineers and specialist extreme weather teams are monitoring track-side temperatures and vulnerable locations and will, if necessary, introduce temporary speed restrictions during the hottest part of the day to keep trains running, albeit more slowly than normal.”

Commuters disembark from a Central Line underground train on 26 July as temperatures in England reached 33.9C. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Meanwhile, as Londoners struggle on the sweltering tube, Transport for London says the deeper tube lines are hotter than those closer to the surface due to the difficulty of installing ventilation and newer systems on the older lines.

TfL confirmed this week that air conditioning will not arrive on the Central Line until 2030: only 40% of the network is covered by its 192 air-conditioned trains.

A TfL spokesperson said it was “investing millions of pounds and constantly working on new ways to keep the temperature down on the tube”, including adding fans and installing chiller units to pump in cold air to platforms.

Some residents in the area have complained of having no water at all, while the fallout has ranged from cancelled family events to the closure of Chessington World of Adventures, which says it was made was made aware of the burst water pipe this morning.

As a result, due to the health and safety of you our guests, we have been forced to make the difficult decision not to open the theme park and zoo today. We apologise we weren’t in a position with the information provided to us by Thames Water to make our decision sooner.

And here’s a local councillor voicing frustrations:

Mary Marshall (@marshall11_m)

A burst water main in Chessington has left some parts of Claygate without water! It is a very hot day so young and old may need help. Where can they go to get water? @thameswater

Extreme weather: post your questions

Is the extreme weather – from heatwaves to thunderstorms – a direct effect of climate change? Can we expect more summers like this in the UK and across the globe? And what can be done about it?

Our reporter Adam Vaughan will be live on this blog between 2pm and 3pm today to answer any questions you have. You can post them below the line now, tweet Adam @adamvaughan_uk and join us here from 2pm for his replies.

But speed restrictions on tracks are still likely to be put in place elsewhere later in the day if rails heat up.

Afternoon trains have been delayed every day this week on services including Virgin, Chiltern, Greater Anglia and Northern, with trains having to run below 20mph on parts of the network because of rails hitting 50C or more in the sun.

A number of fires have also started near tracks causing delays, including on South Western Railway which was also affected by the heat and industrial action, piling on the misery for travellers in and out of Waterloo this week. Eurotunnel Shuttle passengers face ongoing disruption due to sweltering conditions.

Motoring organisations were expecting busy traffic on the roads, with all schools now finished for summer and many families dashing for the coast. A spike in breakdowns in soaring temperatures was expected by insurers, with cars liable to overheat – compounded by long journeys in packed family cars with the air conditioning on, according to insurers Green Flag, who expected a 10% jump to around 50,000 breakdowns over yesterday and today.

Meanwhile, softening, bulging asphalt could worsen Britain’s pothole problem, according to the AA.

But the kicker today for motorists could be thunderstorms, as the heatwave breaks – potentially causing even more difficult driving conditions, with flash floods liable on several roads according to the Met Office. A spokesman said that roads including the M11, M18, M1 and A1 “won’t be very pleasant, a lot of spray and surface water around”.

The heatwave is culminating in one of the busiest days of the year for air travellers, with British airports expecting the number of departures to peak today. Nats, the UK air traffic control service, is due to handle 8,841 flights in 24 hours.

The heat poses no problem for aviation in general – although thunderstorms can lead to flight cancellations. Heathrow said there was no impact expected from thunderstorms forecast around Britain today.

While travellers on all forms of transport have been encouraged to stay hydrated, airports and airlines have warned that does not include an alcoholic tipple. A campaign branded One Too Many campaign has been launched by the aviation minister, Liz Sugg, reminding passengers of the risks of drinking to excess – from being denied boarding to having a plane diverted, which could mean up to two years’ prison and a fine of £80,000.